Rural Broadband Update

On Tuesday, December 4, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology conducted a hearing titled “Oversight of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration” (NTIA). Testifying before the subcommittee was Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications. In early September, a coalition of nearly 300 organizations, which included internet service providers (ISPs), state broadband offices, and trade groups sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Assistant Secretary Davidson urging them to consider performance bonds as an alternative form of security to letters of credit (LOCs) for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

The result, as reported in the November 1, NASBP SmartBrief, NTIA now permits providers to submit a 100% performance bond and LOC from a qualified credit union to obtain funds from the BEAD Program. In addition, states and territories can lower providers’ percentage requirements for bonds and LOCs as companies achieve certain buildout milestones. Assistant Secretary Davidson’s testimony made reference to NTIA’s recent policy shift concerning the LOC requirement, which according to Davidson, “could be a barrier to participation in the program.” Davidson’s testimony added, “We issued a waiver providing specific alternatives that will encourage participation from a wide range of providers, while at the same time protecting taxpayer dollars . . . This is just one example of how NTIA works to collaborate with stakeholders to have our programs best achieve our goals.” NASBP and various stakeholders representing the ISP community have raised this issue to representatives at NTIA and will continue to work with the agency to ensure that a surety bond is a viable alternative to a LOC.

CIPC

On behalf of the Construction Industry Procurement Coalition (CIPC), U.S. House of Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN-8th) has once again agreed to serve as co-chair of the Construction Procurement Caucus. Joining Representative Stauber as co-chair will be freshman Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-MI-3rd). Both members serve on the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure and Small Business Committees. The bipartisan Caucus was established to promote commonsense design and construction procurement reforms that benefit the government, taxpayers, and those businesses interested in pursuing federal contracting opportunities.

The primary goals of the Caucus are to: 1) simplify the federal construction services procurement process; 2) promote a competitive marketplace for federal construction services contract awards for all size businesses; 3) support greater opportunities for all size businesses in the federal marketplace; and 4) elevate procurement-related legislative opportunities. Members Stauber and Scholten plan to send a “Dear Colleague” letter to their House colleagues asking they consider joining the Caucus should federal procurement policy matters be of interest to their business constituents, as it is important to understand how the government procurement process works and what you can do as a member of Congress to educate and assist your district’s small contractors. The CIPC plans to promote the Caucus in a similar fashion as it did in the previous Congress with a press conference some time in 2024.